With half of the 4th District term left, neighborhood groups want a special election, but the council president says no decision will come until next year.
The Los Angeles City Council could appoint someone to serve out the rest of Mayor-elect Nithya Raman’s council term without a special election, and neighborhood leaders in her district are preparing to fight for a vote, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said the council won’t decide how to fill the 4th District seat until next year. “We haven’t ruled anything out,” he said. Raman takes office as mayor Dec. 14, and the council goes on winter recess the next day.
Raman’s council term runs through December 2028, so about half of it remains. “We just want to have a voice. That’s the way the system is supposed to work,” Anastasia Mann, president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council, told the Times. “It’s not like we have six months left in her term. We have half of the term left.”
On Wednesday, the Encino Property Owners Assn. voted unanimously to ask Raman, Harris-Dawson and the council to hold a special election. “Any other way is essentially backroom anointment,” said Rob Glushon, the group’s president. “We won’t accept an anointment.”
WHAT THE CHARTER ALLOWS
Under Section 409 of the City Charter, the council may fill a council vacancy by appointment or call a special election by ordinance. When it calls an election, it “also may appoint a person to hold the office temporarily until the vacancy election is conducted and the election results are certified and declared.”
Josué Marcus, a spokesperson for the city clerk’s office, told the Times the council could install a nonvoting caretaker or a voting interim member until an election is held, or appoint a voting member to serve until the end of Raman’s term, the Times reported.
The council has used both routes. In 2022, it appointed Heather Hutt, a former state legislative staffer, as a voting member after then-Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was indicted on federal corruption charges, and it reappointed her to finish his term after his conviction. After Nury Martinez resigned in 2022, the chief legislative analyst’s office served as a nonvoting caretaker until voters elected Imelda Padilla the following year, according to the Times.
WHERE COUNCIL MEMBERS STAND
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky believes district voters “should have the opportunity to decide who they want to represent them on the city council, and that there should be a special election as soon as possible,” spokesperson Leo Daube said. “She does not believe a candidate for that seat should be appointed by the City Council before a special election is held,” Daube said.
Councilmember Traci Park said the council shouldn’t decide without hearing from Raman’s constituents. “Whether it’s an appointment, election or both, residents deserve a say in their future,” she said in a statement.
Raman has not said whether she wants a special election. Her spokesperson, Stella Stahl, said Raman believes district residents deserve effective representation and “continuity of services.” “She looks forward to a thoughtful process that puts their interests first,” Stahl said.
At least two people say they would run. Jimmy Biblarz, a senior adviser and campaign counsel to Raman’s mayoral campaign, said he is prepared to launch a campaign if a special election is called, and Deputy City Atty. Ethan Weaver, who lost to Raman in 2024, said he would also run, the Times reported. The LA Globe noted that both bids depend on whether the council calls an election at all.
